New (Old) Truck

I bought a project truck last week, a 1998 GMC Sierra diesel crew cab dually 1 ton. I like 6.5 turbo diesels, had a Suburban with a 6.5, my friend has a 6.5 Tahoe, we've spent the time to learn the mods needed to make the 6.5 a reliable engine with decent power.

I bought it partly as a fun project, partly because we need a 1 ton at work part of the time. It's a long vehicle but doesn't feel all that big just driving down the road, you notice it in tight areas with the very large turning radius.

It has 119,000 miles, runs perfectly. Interior is pretty trashed but we'll see what we can do to clean it up. I'll keep my eyes open for a plow, will want to get one on it by next winter.

David I think you have a fetish for anything manufactured in 98 with a worn interior.

I really like that body style and black makes it look good. Old trucks never die they just get better!

8122pbrainard wrote: David, I've got 260K on my 95 6.5 turbo. The only real issues I've had with it are the typical Stanadyne problems with the fuel solenoid module and their connecting cable. After several cable changes as well as one module, I'm now on the latest gold plated connector cable and an aftermarket module. That was about 50K ago so it seems to be working. I'm keeping my fingers crossed since I hope to get lots more miles out of it.

The Suburbans are awesome vehicles, I really enjoyed mine, sold it with 225,000 miles, the buyer is still running it as a daily driver, has done a body swap because the old body had too much rust.

You mention cable, I assume you've got the PMD/FSD out of the engine bay, on a heat sink, and in the air stream somewhere. Under the front bumper is the best place for them. Funny you mention it, this truck was not running, the owner knew it was the module, but didn't replace it, plus had the batteries out of it. It's hard to sell non-running vehicles, he had started at $6,500, dropped to $5,000, then to $3,500, which is what I paid. My friend and I show up (Biddeford, ME), we brought a spare module and cable, plugged it in, installed batteries, started and ran perfectly. I think the owner had some regrets, but was a good guy and stuck with the deal.

If you're interested Pete I'll send you my list of fixes for the truck, what we plan to do to get it to where I'd like it to be.

Here's a picture of the Suburban, the thing was the best snow vehicle I've ever owned:

My friend that does a lot of the work for me finds junkyard parts for stuff like door handles, switches, etc.

I like my vehicles to be relatively quiet and smooth since I do so much highway driving, and no lifts for me though I usually put some larger tires on. The guy I keep mentioning has a lifted Tahoe, I drove it last week, and it's a chore for me to get in and out of.

I'm not stuck on any manufacturer. I have an '03 Durango that I really enjoy, like these GM's, would buy a Ford 7.3 diesel any time. They all have their quirks, good models and bad.

Kristof I have always liked your tow vehicle,I assume it's x drive too?